


No. 28 Hunting Season (Leon and Elyan)

by Onehelluvapilot



Series: Whumptober 2020 [29]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural (TV) Fusion, Captured Leon, Episode: s01e15 The Benders, Gen, Protective Elyan (Merlin), Whump, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:26:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27246487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onehelluvapilot/pseuds/Onehelluvapilot
Summary: Leon wakes up in a cage
Relationships: Elyan & Leon (Merlin)
Series: Whumptober 2020 [29]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952440
Kudos: 16





	No. 28 Hunting Season (Leon and Elyan)

Leon groaned as he woke, instantly realizing that he wasn’t in the bunker, a motel, or his car, and jumping to his feet because waking up somewhere unfamiliar meant he wasn’t safe. Unfortunately, jumping to his feet meant he hit his head on the roof of the cage. Doing so was definitely not helpful to the lump already raising on the back of his head where he remembered being hit with something that had felt like a baseball bat before passing out. What kind of monster used a baseball bat? He grabbed onto the door of the cage with both hands, rattling it to check how sturdy it was, though he didn’t expect to be able to open it. Maybe if he could have gotten a running start, but in here, he couldn’t even stand up. He grabbed onto the roof of the cage so he could swing a little and kick at the door with more force behind it, but it held firm. Dropping down to crouch, he decided to save his strength and focus on staying calm and planning a more sophisticated escape plan. 

The cage was in some kind of basement, or a root cellar, with only a little light where it came in from under the crude door. There was a second cage across a small walkway, currently empty. He couldn’t decide if it was reassuring that Elyan wasn’t in it. On the one hand, corpses didn’t need to be kept in cages, but hopefully he hadn’t been captured and would go about tracking down Leon safely. He was a good hunter, especially when it came to case work and locating monsters, though he wasn’t as sharp of a shot as Leon. Not that his gun had helped him when he’d been taken outside the bar where the other man was finishing his drink. He hadn’t even seen what grabbed him. It would have been nice to have some idea what he was dealing with. Numerous missing persons in a town over a number of years could indicate any number of monsters, demons, or other things that go bump in the night.

The door creaked open and Leon surged forward to the front of the cage to try to get a look at whoever had opened it. Any information he could gather would be useful, even if he couldn't identify what they were immediately. The man, tall, on the heavy side, an axe in one hand and a plate of something in the other, looked human. When he smiled, no extra set of teeth came down like a vampire and his eyes didn't turn black, red, yellow, white, green, or any other unnatural color or shape like a demon or many monsters. Leon had a feeling that any of them would have shifted at least a little to scare him (there wasn't much reason to keep him alive in a cage if that wasn't their intention) and so the fact that the man still did look human sent a terrified shiver down his spine. Monsters, he could deal with, but people? People were crazy.

"Eat up," he said as he set the plate on the ground and kicked it through a slot at the bottom of the cage door. "You'll want your strength."

"For what?"

"The hunt." The man explained before turning to leave. Leon had a bad feeling that he wasn't going to be the hunter here. And he didn't really fancy being the prey.

Leon pushed the plate of what seemed to be some kind of gruel to the side. As well as not looking appetizing in the least, he didn't trust that it wasn't drugged or poisoned. If it really seemed like he was being weakened by hunger if they kept him in here a long time, he'd eat it, but until then he was fine with having just the pretzels from the bar last night in his stomach. And hopefully Elyan would come rescue him soon anyway.

It was hard to keep track of the passage of time with no clocks and little light, but Leon estimated that it was a few hours later when the lock on his cage door abruptly popped open. Being a cautious man by nature, the hunter immediately identified this as Not A Good Sign. He scraped the porridge off and took the tin plate with him while he searched the basement for a better weapon. It wasn't particularly heavy duty, but in a pinch it could work as a shield. The basement didn't yield anything else, so with just the plate Leon made his say carefully up the stairs. He paused at the top, listening closely for any signs of life outside. Hearing nothing, he opened the door a crack and peered out. Seeing nothing, he slipped through the entryway.

The cellar he'd been caged in seemed to be connected to a barn, and there was a farmhouse not far away. Though his first instinct was to run for one of the cars he could see in the yard behind the house, he forced himself to stick close to the wall instead. He'd be harder to spot that way and with luck he could make it into the barn without being noticed. With luck, there would be a pitchfork or other tool he could use as a weapon inside. Maybe even a shotgun.

Leon turned around the corner of the barn and instinctively smacked the man he ran into on the head with the tin plate. It made a noise much like a dropped baking sheet but didn't do much damage.

"Ow," Elyan grumbled, rubbing his forehead with one hand.

"Sorry," Leon apologized after he'd realized it was his friend.

"No matter. C'mon, let's get out of here."

"We're not going to stay and deal with this?"

Elyan shook his head, hand clasping around Leon's arm and beginning to tug him away. Evidently, he wasn't willing to stay and argue. Leon wondered what he had seen that had scared him. He was clearly freaked out, eyes wide and gun clenched tightly in his hand.

"No. They're human, so the cops can deal with them. They'll find all the evidence they need to convict."

A gunshot cracked over Leon's head as they approached Elyan's car. He turned to see three men and a woman, all dressed in camouflage with hunting rifles in hand, taking aim from the edge of the woods. Elyan and he both dove into the vehicle and more bullets continued to strike the car, shattering three of the windows, as they drove off. Leon breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the main road, but his friend remained tight-lipped and tense as he sped the rest of the way back into town.

"Pass me one of the burner phones from the glove compartment?" He instructed after pulling over into the parking lot of the diner they'd had breakfast in the previous day. "Stay here," he ordered Leon gruffly as he got out of the car. The older hunter looked over at him in confusion and concern as he slammed the car door and went to sit on the hood to make his call. It wasn't like Elyan to be so bossy; in fact, if the situation called for someone to be in charge he normally deferred to Leon's superiority within the Men of Letters hierarchy.

After a minute, Elyan hung up the phone, took the SIM card out, and snapped it in half before turning back to look at Leon. He nodded, which the blond hunter took to mean that it was okay for him to get out of the car now. Within a second of standing up, he found himself enveloped in a tight hug. Elyan didn't let go of him for a long few seconds, and when he did pull back, he kept one strong hand on Leon's shoulder.

"Are you hurt?" He demanded. His dark eyes were piercing as they studied his friend's face. He was looking for something, or perhaps reassuring himself of it. What it was wasn't clear.

"No. Well, I got knocked out when they took me, but it isn't bad."

Elyan nodded after another second of eye contact. "Good." Leon wanted to ask what he had seen that had him so freaked out, but based on how his friend hadn't even let him listen in on the anonymous tip he sent to the police, he had a feeling the other man wouldn't want to talk about it. He clapped his hand down on Elyan's shoulder and squeezed gently. A silent reassurance that whatever had happened to the other people who went missing hadn't happened to him.

"Breakfast?" He asked, nodding towards the diner.

"On one condition."

"What?"

"You're not allowed to leave the building first when it's over."

Leon nodded, quickly understanding why. He could imagine the panic of last night, when Elyan had left the bar to find his partner gone.

"Got it." His stomach growled as if it too agreed. He ducked his head in embarrassment, but his friend just laughed. Finally. It was good to see a more relaxed smile blossom over his face.

"Let's go get something to eat, ey?"


End file.
